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Vol. 62/No. 6Fall-Winter 2018

C e l e b r a t i n g 7 6 Ye a r s o f A v i a t i o n Tr a d i t i o n

NEWSWith the Back to the Future movie logo displayed on screens throughout the ballroom and Richard Quest attired as Doc Brown, the inventor of the time machine, it quickly became obvious that this year’s Gala would highlight the future and the next generation of aviation leaders.

Franklin Pray, the 76th president of The Wings Club Foundation presided over the evening. He welcomed the over 1300 guests and introduced the evening’s honoree, Willie Walsh, CEO International Airlines Group. From the audience he recognized two Medal of Honor recipients, Colonel Jack Jacobs US Army retired, and Captain Florent “Flo” Groberg US Army retired as well as a former Wings Club Scholarship recipient, Amy Bonilla.

Announcing the achievement of a major Wings Club Foundation objective, Mr. Pray revealed the expansion of the scholarship grant program, “tonight, we will honor nine outstanding students with academic scholarships.”

Richard Quest then requested the audience’s attention for the presentation of a video showcasing the careers of two past Wings Club Foundation scholarship award winners. This year’s recipients were called to the stage to receive their awards which were presented to the students by Elise Eberwein and Greg Hamilton, Scholarship Committee Chairs.

Returning to the podium, Mr. Pray awarded a $25,000 grant to Orbis International for their humanitarian work before introducing the evening’s entertainment.

With the words, “we now have a very special treat for you, Grammy Award winning artist, Gloria Gaynor,” Mr. Pray brought the crowd to its feet. First, the audience was clapping to the beat of the music, then singing along to the well-known lyrics and finally dancing in the aisles.

At that point, only a very special person could have commanded the room the way the evening’s honoree, Willie Walsh, did. Using skillful, self-deprecating humor he relayed highlights of his career starting with his hiring as a 17-year-old cadet pilot by Aer Lingus, becoming their CEO, moving on to British Airways then IAG and what it was

like being frequently confused for Michael O’Leary.

Shifting from humor to a more serious tone, Mr. Walsh remarked upon the honor associated with receiving the Distinguished Achievement Award, “I deeply appreciate the Wings Club for giving me this great privilege. This is an award that I accept and am really honored to do so - but I do so with my friends and colleagues. As an honoree, you stand up here and receive the praise and get the award, but you have to recognize it is not without the support of friends, family and, most importantly in this industry, not without the support of our colleagues. We can’t do this on our own.”  

Willie Walsh, Frank Pray

Willie Walsh

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A Message From The President

Dear Wings Club Members:

2018 has been an eventful year here at the Wings Club. We continue to make great progress in our mission to promote aerospace education and to support organizations that use aviation to help those in need.

We continue to expand on our grant programs. At our recent Annual Awards Gala, we awarded scholarships to nine exceptional aviation students. We were pleased to add Purdue University to this year’s list of recipients. We also presented a grant to Orbis International for their humanitarian work to restore vision around the world. Our Aerospace on Campus program continues to grow. Through this initiative, Wings Club executives share the innovation and excitement of aviation with college students. In October, we held very successful events at the University of Colorado and the University of Maryland

During the past year, our Aviation Leader Series Luncheons featured another extraordinary list of speakers. The visibility of the Wings Club abroad also continues to expand. In 2018, we hosted events in Dublin, Tokyo, and Dubai. We are planning our first ever event in Hong Kong for the beginning of next year and we will be back in Dublin in April.

It is very rewarding to see the progress in each of these initiatives. This year, the Wings Club Foundation reached its first funding milestone goal of five million dollars through the President’s Societies Membership Program and other contributions. This funding will help ensure the long-term success of our mission. We are grateful to all who have contributed.

In the upcoming year, we will continue to build on each of these initiatives. The success of all of our programs is made possible by the strong support of our membership.

I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events.

Best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year.

Franklin PrayPresidentThe Wings Club Foundation

Winter 2018

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SEPTEMBER LUNCHEON

Mr. David CunninghamPresident and Chief Executive OfficerFedEx Express

Starting with a nod to Fred Smith’s contribution to the industry, Mr. Cunningham gave a brief overview of the rapid growth of FedEx since its 1973 founding. “Forty-five years ago FedEx began turning the aviation business and business possibilities upside down…and building one of the largest transportation systems on the planet.” He continued, “we got here by always putting our customer first and with our Purple Promise ‘to make every FedEx experience outstanding.’” Segueing from his FedEx overview to the industry as a whole, he noted “we

as an industry must come together to advocate for m o d e r n i z a t i o n of the nation’s i n f r a s t r u c t u r e ; advocate for an education system that allows us to build the workforce we need and innovate for the future of aviation.”

David Cunningham

Nicole Hoque, Gary KrauthamerKurt Ruckersfeldt, Jonah Sanchez, Brian Lammers

Sam Nesbit, Bobbi Wells, John BroganMatthew Greene, Bob Lekites, David Cunningham, Kenny Dichter, Greg Hall, Sean McGeough

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Wings Club On the Road – Dubai, UAE

Seated: Kostya Zolotusky, Tim Myers, Frank PrayStanding: Tom Fitzsimmons, Ali Ben Lmadani, Dr. Hicham

Machmouchir, Firoz Tarapore

Mr. Tim MyersPresidentBoeing Capital Corporation

Mr. Myers opened with the observation that there were a lot of the leaders in aviation finance in the room. “It is a relationship business. We get deals done by people you know and knowing they can close deals and move forward.” Looking at the trends in aviation and aerospace market over the next decade, he relayed that Boeing forecasts that aerospace is about an eight trillion-dollar market, with over three trillion of that just on the commercial aircraft side, a lot more in services and some on the space and defense side. “Think about three trillion dollars – that’s a lot of financing - that’s enough to go around. And that is just in the next 10 years.”

Distinguished AchievementAward Recipient

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Annual Awards GalaWillie WalshChief Executive Officer International Airline Group

In his acceptance speech for the Wings Club Distinguished Achievement Award presented on October 19, 2018, Mr. Walsh reflected that it was on October 19 seventeen years ago that he took over as CEO of Aer Lingus. “I remember that day very well. It was shortly after the tragic events of September 11 – and I am actually very honest about this – I got the chance to be CEO because nobody else wanted it. It was well known that Aer Lingus was going out of business, but somebody had to do it, so I thought why not?” Why not, indeed. In the tribute video, industry colleagues credit him for his role in “making this industry investment grade,” and “changing the face of aviation in Europe and around the globe.” However, in his own words, “As I listened to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, it reminded me of my first day as a CEO in this industry, ‘first I was afraid, I was petrified.’”

Seated: Kostya Zolotusky, Tim Myers, Frank PrayStanding: Tom Fitzsimmons, Ali Ben Lmadani, Dr. Hicham

Machmouchir, Firoz Tarapore

NOVEMBER LUNCHEON

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Robin HayesChief Executive OfficerJetBlue

In very fast paced and comprehensive remarks, Robin Hayes traced the founding and growth of JetBlue concurrent with the reshaping of the industry “from top to bottom” due to consolidation and mergers. Mr. Hayes noted, “one of the most profound changes in our industry resulting from consolidation is they way mega airlines treat new competition. For 20 years we have continued to press governments and airports to break down the barriers to entry for carriers like JetBlue. We believe regulators should do everything they can to make it possible for new players and new models to have a fair shot at competing. It is extremely important that the Department of Transportation continues to evaluate the new market realities of consolidation and massive barriers to entry as they are harming consumers.”

Robin Hayes

Marcel Landry, Stacy Perlton, Rob DeGasperis,Elise Charbonnbau, Daniel Lazzari

Barry Eccleston, Dora Habachy, Rebecca Lane

Frank Pray, Narie-Liesse Marc, Robin Hayes Frank Pray with New York University students

Aerospace on Campus

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The Aerospace on Campus series continues to be a successful and integral part of the Foundation’s outreach to students at colleges and universities. This fall two well attended events were held, garnering positive feedback for the program.

• Mary Ellen Jones, Vice President, Asia-Pacific Sales, Pratt & Whitney, accompanied by Joe Anselmo, Editor-in-chief and Irene Klotz, Space Editor of Aviation Week & Space Technology, traveled to the University of Colorado.

• Barry Eccleston, retired CEO Airbus Americas, accompanied by Greg Hamilton, President and Graham Warwick, Managing Editor, Technology, Aviation Week & Space Technology traveled to the University of Maryland.

Looking forward to 2019, two events are already in the planning phases for the fall semester with more anticipated as the year progresses.

Wings Club Foundation Scholarships – Making a Difference

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The Wings Club has awarded 95 scholarships since the year 2000, making a difference in the lives of outstanding students committed to careers in the field of aviation; students with the drive and determination to become future leaders.

Drawing recipients from both Aviation Schools and Universities with degree programs in Aviation allows The Wings Club Foundation a distinctive and diverse group of high-achieving student scholars. For many, the scholarships were the transformational difference, allowing students of less fortunate means to realize their dreams of a college education and a chance of significant upward mobility.

Setting the Foundation’s awards apart from other scholarship programs is the SIM program (Scholarship, Internship and Mentorship), which draws on the strength of our members who provide corporate participation with and sponsorship of our scholarship recipients through internships in their companies and mentorships.

The 2018 Wings Club FoundationScholarship Awards

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The Wings Club Foundation Scholars:

Yesenia HurtadoA junior at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology

Alice NovatnakA senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Distinguished Scholar Award Recipients:

Andrew AdamsA graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

John ChacchiA junior at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology

Julia MihaylovA senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Mohit PathakA junior at Purdue University

The tenth annual William R. DeCota Scholarship:

James GarganoA junior at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology

Children of Fallen Patriots Scholarships:

The Vern L. Pray ScholarshipJe’an T. Marbury

A junior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Owen Nicely A senior at Jacksonville University

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Annual Awards Gala

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Annual Awards Gala

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Annual Awards Gala

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Annual Awards Gala

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Annual Awards Gala

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Annual Awards Gala Silent Auction Donor List

Aer Lingus

AeroMexico

Airbus

Alaska Airlines

American Airlines

Andaz Costa Rica Resort, at Peninsula Papagayo

ATR

The Boeing Company

Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, St. Thomas

The Bondurant Group

Bradford Renaissance Portraits

Bristol Associates

CAE

Cathay Pacific

Copa Airlines

Dassault Falcon Jet

Delta Air Lines

Divi Aruba All Inclusive Resort

EL AL

Embraer

FedEx

FlightSafety International

Freestream Aircraft

The Wings Club Foundation sincerely thanks the companies and individuals who havegenerously donated to the Silent Auction.

This year’s donors were:

GOL Linhas Aereas S.A.

Hawaiian Airlines

James Jacobs

JetBlue Airways

Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Resort, Dubai

Krauthamer & Associates

L3 Technologies

Lions Dive Resort, Curacao

Magellan Jets

Marriott Courtyard Bonaire

Mitsubishi Aircraft

The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort

Ocean Terrace Inn, St. Kitts

Pratt & Whitney

Qatar Airways

Rosewood Bermuda

Howard Rubel

Southwest Airlines

Spirit Airlines

Tradewind Aviation

TRU Simulation + Training

United Airlines

Volaris

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P.O. Box 4464New York, NY 10163

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THE WINGS CLUBFOUNDATION

NEWSLETTER

Editor - Candice Adams Kimmel Adams Unlimited

Photos - Christopher Gill

Published byThe Wings Club Foundation, Inc.

www.wingsclub.org

January LuncheonJanuary 24, 2019

The Yale ClubSpeaker: Bill FlynnPresident and CEO

Atlas Air

Hong KongJanuary 31, 2019

The American Club, Clipper RoomSpeaker: TBA

‘Sight Lecture’February 20, 2019

The Yale ClubSpeaker: Jeff Bezos, Chief Executive

Officer, Amazon and Founder, Blue Origin

Annual MeetingMarch 27, 2019The Yale Club

Induction of new Wings Club President, presentation of 2019

Outstanding Aviator Award, Cocktail Reception

March LuncheonMarch 28, 2019The Yale ClubSpeaker: TBA

April LuncheonApril 18, 2019The Yale Club

Speaker: Gaël MéheustPresident and CEOCFM International

Dublin LuncheonApril 5, 2019

Inter-Continental DublinSpeaker: TBA

SAVE THE DATE

THE WINGS CLUBFOUNDATION

PRSRT FIRST CLASSU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDMIAMI FL

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